We’ve all been there—frustrated from a bad day at work or antsy because your regular workout isn’t cutting it. Rather than giving up all together and choosing Netflix instead, match your mood to the workout to reap the particular benefits your mind and body need. Stressed? Try yoga. Happy? Go for a run. Read on to see what which workout will benefit you the most—both mentally and physically.
Stressed
Practice Yoga
When you’re stressed, the hormone cortisol courses through your body, leaving you tense, agitated, and foggy. Get back to a calm state of mind with yoga. Not only will the sweat-inducing moves in a more vigorous class, such as Vinyasa, help stretch you out, build core muscles, and deplete cortisol, but yoga’s strong focus on the mind helps clear out that fog and get you back to a neutral state of body and mind.
Bored
Do something new to you
Maybe you are sick of your everyday, mundane routine after work, or perhaps your weekends need just a bit more excitement. Challenge yourself and do something that scares you, like grabbing a harness, a rope, and giving climbing a try. The challenge of reaching the top hold of the route is addicting, and the rush of joy when you do complete the route won’t leave you for hours.
Excited
Take a dance class
Whether you are celebrating your strong, capable body, or even a recent accomplishment at work, feed off this excitement and bring it into your workout. The best workout to stay amped up? A dance class, like Les Mills BODYJAM. The high-energy music will mimic your high-energy mood, and the moves will get your heart pumping. Plus, dance not only works your heart and core muscles, but will also put your coordination, concentration, and memory to the test. Find out the five toughest dance workouts here.
Happy
Go for a run
Getting to your favorite running route isn’t always the easiest, so if you are already in a rocking, happy mood, flow with that energy and lace up. The already cheerful mood will make the jog seem like less of a chore and more of a fun way to explore the area or groove to some music. Plus, it’s not called a ‘runner’s high’ for nothing—getting your body moving will boost the endorphins in your brain, with these cheerful chemicals doubling as pain killers to help lessen the sense of discomfort.
Angry
Try combat training
We’ve all had moments where we just want to hit something, but rather then destroying your goods (and knuckles), find a local kickboxing gym or a combat training class, to ease out that frustration from the daily grind. You’ll learn to kick, punch, and strike with proper form, and work your larger muscles with conditioning drills like planks, push-ups, and squats.
Anxious
Try strength training
According to research by the University of South Carolina, resistance training is the top exercise that can help improve generalized anxiety. In a Les Mills BODYPUMP class, you are guaranteed not just a hard strength-training workout, but a fun, high-energy one that will leave you sore the next day. The classes use light to medium weights with high reps to get a full-body workout that tones every muscle group and works the core, too. As you keep coming back week after week, you’ll see your muscles grow while your nerves and jitters decrease.
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